


wasted youth (in wonderland)

by latteowl



Category: Red Velvet - Fandom, TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2018-12-22 13:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11967930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latteowl/pseuds/latteowl
Summary: They're just a bunch of teenagers trying to deal with high school and life.





	1. 'cause i get really lost sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've got the entire chapters planned out so just bear with me for this thing shall go on a slow pace. lol

“Joohyun? Irene sweetie, time to get up,” the woman from the passenger seat says while trying to wake the sleeping girl at the backseat.

“What time is it? My neck hurts,” said girl replied blinking sleep off of her eyes and rubbing the soreness from her neck.

“Around one. Just a few more blocks and we'd get to our new home. The moving truck called saying they're at the place already.”

“Okay,” Irene replies. Her attention immediately falling onto the quiet neighborhood they're driving through. 18 years and yet she still finds it annoying how they have to move every time her dad decides to.

Few minutes later and the car parks right behind a truck which Irene recalls is from the moving company they hired.

“We're here,” her dad announces as he turns the ignition off. “You're gonna love the place, Irene.”

 _You're gonna love the place_. The same phrase he'd always use every time they get to their new house.

Strapping off the seatbelt, she grabs her bag and exits the car. Irene is then greeted by the smell of freshly mowed lawns and the September chill. She eyes the house in front of her.

A typical blue two-story house with a front porch and a small wooden gate at the left which probably leads to the backyard.

“Don't you think it's a bit huge for the three of us?” Irene asks as she turns to look at her parents who were now trying to get some of their stuff from the trunk.

“Yeah. But I think you won’t feel that way when our stuff’s packed inside it anyway. There's a basement and also an attic. It's roomy so you can choose that as your bedroom if you want. Better yet, check inside and you can pick,” her father said.

“Okay then,” she says as she approaches them to carry a few of their stuff.

Inside, Irene was greeted by cream colored walls. A sofa was already in place which she guesses was probably done by the guys from the moving company.

“There are three rooms upstairs. We can just use the other one as the guest room,” she hears her dad say as she starts heading off upstairs.

Her eyes immediately falls onto the stairs leading up the second floor and with no hesitation, she heads towards the one she hopes faced the backyard. It was indeed enough to room in, even with a spacious balcony. Rushing downstairs, she says to her dad “I'll take the last room.”

Her dad smiles at her.

-

“I'll drive you to school on Monday. I hope you're okay with that,” her mother tells her during dinner after a day of unloading boxes.

“Fine with me. Better than having to wake up early just to commute,” Irene replies as she twirls the spaghetti on her fork. Her dad sends her a sympathetic smile.

“It's more peaceful here than in New York. You'll get used to it in no time,” her mother says to her. She nods.

“Hopefully.”

-

 “Just head straight to the main office. You can get your timetable from there. Think you can handle that?” Her mother asks to which Irene rolls her eyes to.

“Mom, I'm eighteen. I'll be fine,” she replies as she looks at the building in front of them. Nothing says school spirit than drab brick walls and the lifeless exterior of the school.

“Alright. Your dad will pick you up later. Have fun on your first day!” Mrs. Bae says as her daughter steps out of the car. Joohyun just waves her hand in goodbye as she looks at her mother’s car driving away.

Taking a deep breath, she steers to look at the doors into her school. Finding no point on loitering outside.

“Welp, here goes nothing.”

After a few awkward moments with the woman whose smile never falters – Joohyun thinks she's probably required to look cheery all the time – from the main office, she stops at the hallway. The lockers were painted in white and blue, which pretty much resembles every goddamn high school in America sans the color.

Her timetable tells her she has chemistry for first period, she then looks at the school map she was given along with her schedule. She frowns. Directions were never really her thing.

She looks at both ends of the hallway trying to figure out which way is which. At the same time she also notices how students are also starting to pour into the halls. Joohyun prays that she won't be late for her first class.

Minutes later, after wandering around with complete confusion, she finds herself in front of the science lab and she sighs in relief. She enters the classroom indicated on her schedule only to find it empty. But the bag on the teacher’s desk indicates that he or she probably went out for a bit.

Irene settles at the seat at the table on the far corner of the room. There were only four hexagonal tables, which Joohyun assumes were their lab tables, each having a faucet and drawers at the sides. For what, she doesn’t know. Probably for the apparatuses.

She checks her watch, only to find that she still has fifteen minutes to spare. Pulling out her stationaries and setting her backpack on the floor, she spares some of her time doodling random bunny characters.

Irene hears footsteps in the classroom and she sees a girl with hair that reminded her of the blue midnight sky heading towards her direction. Said girl drops herself onto the seat next to Irene’s only giving the latter a brief glance and immediately slumping onto the desk to sleep. Completely ignoring Irene’s surprised expression.

“Oh, those are cute bunnies!” Irene then jumps from complete shock at the voice.

She yells a mixture of Korean words as she turns towards the person who she didn’t even realized has entered the room.

“Crap. Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you!” the stranger says with an apologetic look on her face. A face which Irene immediately sees a resemblance to a teddy bear.

“Teddy bear…” Irene unknowingly mumbles.

“What?” the bear look alike asked, face full of confusion.

“Oh uh. Nothing. It's okay. I uh. I get scared easily and I didn't see you there,” Irene says sheepishly in reply. Thankful that the girl wasn’t able to hear what she was mumbling about, a habit she really hasn’t let go of. She then sees the other girl nod as she got settled at the seat beside her. Leaving Irene between the navy blue haired girl and the other stranger.

“You're Korean, aren't you?” the stranger asks to which Irene nodded to. “Dope! I'm also Korean but I barely speak the language. I'm Seulgi by the way!” the stranger then reaches her hand out for a handshake.

“I-I’m Irene,” she replies, deciding to introduce herself with her foreign name.

“Nice name. The mopey girl beside you is Wendy. It doesn't show but she's nice and all rainbows-”

“Shut up Kang,” the girl named Wendy then looks towards Seulgi only to send the girl a piercing stare wherein Seulgi sticks her tongue out to. “Stupid bear.”

“Ignore her. She just needs more sleep. I take it you're new here, right? I haven't seen you around town even,” Seulgi asks as she returns her attention on Irene.

“Yeah. We just moved in last week and I haven't really gone around that much yet,” Irene replies as she goes back to drawing random characters on her notebook as she notices that more students are starting to fill in the once vacant seats in the room.

“We could tour you around. I've been stuck here since I was six so what better idea it is than to have us tour you around!” Seulgi, Irene noticed the girl had monolid eyes, says with much enthusiasm. They hear a snicker from the girl on Irene’s left.

“Seulgi please, you can't even find your way downtown without getting lost,” Wendy says.

“And that, my friend, is the reason why you're coming with us! What other kind soul than yours would gladly drive us around!” Seulgi says with much enthusiasm, and Wendy gives her this are-you-fucking-kidding-me kind of look.

“I'm not coming-” but whatever Wendy wanted to say got cut-off as Seulgi continues on.

“That is if you want us to tour you around,” the monolid girl turns towards Irene.

“Uh, I've actually still got some stuff to deal with at home. We haven't really finished unpacking and there are still boxes all over the place,” she lies. They've finished unpacking during the weekends.

“Oh I see. Just holler at us if you want a tour,” Seulgi says with a smile and Irene immediately feels guilty for lying but gives the girl a nod.

It's not that she doesn't want their company, probably a bit of that actually, but she’s not really the outgoing type and she prefers to stay indoors. And the whole friends on the first day of school is still shocking the little introvert inside of her.

As if on cue, the bell rings and a tall lean guy with glasses enters the room and starts scribbling his name on the chalkboard. After doing so, he turns to face the class.

“I'm Simon Petrikov and I shall be your chemistry teacher.”

-

After her chem class, Irene then gets dragged – for a lack of better term – by an enthusiastic Seulgi towards the east wing of the school which Irene assumes is connected to the cafeteria due to the picnic tables set around with Wendy trailing behind them. If Seulgi’s one ball of energy, Wendy’s the exact opposite. Irene noticed that the girl doesn't really talk much unless you talk to her, which Irene is too shy to do.

“We hang around here during breaks and lunch. Less crowded and all,” Seulgi says as she settles to sit on the grass under this huge tree. “The others would be here soon.”

“Would you even hear the school bell from here?” Irene asks as she looks back at the school building. Seulgi waves her off.

“We hear it just fine. It's pretty loud,” Seulgi says. Irene nods as she settles down beside the girl, she’s not really satisfied with the answer so opts to set her phone alarm a few minutes earlier since she still has to look for her classroom.

“Hey guys!” They hear a yell and as they look towards it, Irene sees a small group of four approaching them. Panic rises within her. Crowds weren't really her thing.

“Oh hey, you're the new kid!” a tall girl with red hair immediately states while pointing at Irene the moment they reach their table.

“Be nice Soojung. This is Irene. Irene the snarky girl is Soojung, better known as Krystal with a K,” Seulgi says and the mentioned girl grins and waves at her.

“I'm Nayeon,” a girl with cute bunny teeth tells her as she reaches her hand out. “And this idiot’s Momo and that one’s Sana.”

“Yo,” the girl Nayeon introduced as Momo says, prolonging the ‘o’ for a bit and raises her hand up. Sana only waves at her with a smile on her face and Irene can't help but notice the girl’s pretty eyes.

“Is Joy with you guys?” Seulgi asks with a questioning look on her face.

“She'll be here tomorrow. Anyway, where are you from Irene?” Sana asks her as the four settles down onto the vacant seats.

“I'm from New York,” Irene answers and prays that no one would ask about their move. Thank god they don’t.

“Really? Wait, are you Korean?” Momo asks, eyes squinting at her.

“Uh yeah.”

“Dang it, I thought I'd finally have somebody to speak Japanese with,” Sana mutters dejectedly.

“But isn't Momo Japanese?” Wendy asks, and Irene notices that the girl has been talking with Nayeon.

“Yeah. But this dumb bitch doesn't speak the language,” Sana says at the same time sends a glare at Momo.

“Hey, not my fault my folks didn't teach me arigato shit,” Momo says defensively.

“But isn't Japanese an elective subject here?” Irene asks, recalling how she had to choose French over Japanese for her language elective.

“Meh. I don't see the point,” Momo says.

“But you're Japanese!” Sana shrieks.

And Irene finds herself smiling at the small banter. Her phone alarm goes off, immediately gathering the attention of everyone on the table sending her questioning looks.

“I uh. Gotta go for my next class. I still have to look for my classroom,” Irene says as she turns the noisemaker off.

“What's your next class?” Nayeon asks.

“Uh. I have math next,” she says looking at her timetable after pulling it out of her notebook.

“Anyone else who has math?” Seulgi asks, looking around.

“I've got lit. Damn it,” Momo says, frowning.

“You’ve got the same class as Wendy,” Nayeon declares as the girl took a peek at the small paper Irene was holding. “It's at the west wing, might as well start heading there.”

Irene nods at Nayeon’s words. She sees Wendy get up from her seat followed by the rest of the group.

“See you guys at lunch,” Seulgi declares and the group separates at the hallway.

Irene finds herself walking behind Wendy. The girl’s quiet and serious aura makes her want to put at least a bit of distance between them. Her stupid brain telling her that the girl doesn’t want her company.

“Why are you walking behind me?” Wendy asks. So she noticed.

“Nothing. I just um. Get the feeling that you don't really like my company,” Irene answers meekly. The other girl halts and turns towards Irene and immediately starts laughing. Earning them weird looks from students walking by.

“Oh man,” Wendy starts, her laughter dying down a bit. “That's a first. You know what, I like you. Come on, let's go to class.”

The girl then continues walking leaving a confused Irene to gather her thoughts back together. Huh. She must’ve gotten her first impression of the girl wrong.

-

“So how was your first day?” Irene’s father asks as she enters the car.

“Pretty fine. Made some friends too,” she answers.

“Great. Your mother’s making your favorite for dinner,” her father states as they pull out of the parking lot.

Irene smiles. Maybe this place won't be that bad.

 


	2. why don't you figure my heart out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yt playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmcIzvWz1H0&list=PLBkTRRtSjQMfZPtzjVfWPv8aj4Nu-ydvR

“What's up with Momo?” Seulgi asks as she and Irene reach their spot behind the school for their break. Momo has this dazed look on her face, staring off into space. They were the first ones there.

“You know that Momo and I go to school together right?” Sana asks, from the looks of it, it wasn't the first time she was asked the question. Either way the rest of the group nodded at that fact. “Well she saw this cute girl a few houses from mine and she's been dazing off ever since.”

“A new girl crush?” Joy asks, as if the thought is incredulous enough to comprehend. As Nayeon did mention, Joy did show up in school on Wednesday. And Irene guessed that the girl is mischievous only to be proven right when the girl placed a plastic cockroach near her food during lunchtime which caused Irene to scream in utter shock and Sana nearly throwing her food tray onto Joy’s face.

“Beats me,” Sana shrugs. “But I gotta admit, the girl’s pretty. She was wearing a Holy Trinity uniform so I’m guessing she's loaded.”

“Holy Trinity?” Joy asks. “That expensive private school for snobby rich kids just a short drive from ours?”

“Joy, not all of them are snobby,” Nayeon says but Joy ignores her.

“I'm sorry Momo, but you don't stand a chance,” Joy dismisses.

“Gotta agree with Joy though. Most of the kids from Holy Trinity looks down on peeps who study at public schools,” Sana says. “Not unless the girl you're crushing on is the 1 out of 10 exemption,” adding a fake cough at the last sentence.

“Not all kids from prep schools are that snobby,” Wendy says.

“That coming from the girl who used to study at an expensive all girls catholic school,” Krystal snickers.

“Don't make me break your nose, Krystal,” Wendy says. Sending the girl a glare.

“I'm just saying,” Krystal says, raising her hands in mock surrender.

“Wait, you studied where?” Sana asks, the groups attention now on Wendy.

“What? I thought you all knew I studied at one before?” Wendy asks, an expressive eyebrow raised in confusion.

“No wonder you know how to play golf…” Sana murmurs but enough for the group to understand.

“I must know her name!” Momo suddenly exclaims as she shoots up to stand. Face filled with determination, she runs back to the school building.

“Um, should we be worried?” Irene asks, only to have Joy put a hand on her shoulder.

“Oh dear Irene. You have no idea how love can make you stupid, don't you?” Joy says and nearly everyone on the table groans and rolls their eyes in response.

-

“It's just a crush right?” Irene asks Wendy after they got settled at their seats for their Math class. Turns out, both of their schedules are almost the same causing them to go to class together after their breaks and lunch.

“Well yeah. But knowing Momo, she’d probably call it love at first sight,” Wendy says, chuckling as she digs through her bag for her pencil case.

“Love at- what? But I thought she's straight?” Irene asks, confusion on her face as she recalls the numerous amount of pink colored items that Momo owns every time she sees the girl.

“Momo? Oh hell no. She's the first person to openly declare that she's gay on campus,” the other girl says giving Irene another shock. Guess you can’t judge someone from the amount of pink stuff they own.

“She what?! But like, wouldn't that be hard on her? I mean, gay people aren't really-“

“She doesn't give a shit actually. She confessed to this girl before and it spread like wildfire on how she got dumped,” Wendy says, a crease on her forehead forming as she continues the story. “The girl said she doesn't date dykes and Momo just stood there after being rejected and said ‘oh, good to know. I just remembered I don't date jerks either’ and then instead of people criticizing her sexuality, it actually earned her respect.”

Irene looks at how Wendy narrated the story and notices how the girl’s face openly expressed her emotions with the way her eyebrows moved.

“So, all’s well that ends well. That girl finished high school being called a jerk and now everyone loves Momo,” Wendy says finishing with a small smile on her lips. “Well, at least some of them anyway. You know how it is, typical teenage high school shit. One day they like you, the next they don’t.”

Irene nods and lets silence linger for a while between them. “Are you sure you should be sharing this story with me though?”

“Nah. It’s something everyone knows and would probably reach you too,” Wendy says as if waving the thought off. “But you don't have a problem with it, right?”

“With Momo? Oh, no.”

“I meant with gay people.”

“Um none I guess. I mean, they're just normal people who also fall in love. Who the hell am I to judge?” Irene says with a smile as she looks at Wendy.

And for the first time, she sees Wendy send a smile at her.

-

“I got her name!” Momo loudly declares as she approaches their table during lunch. She was the last one to arrive so consider the confused looks from everyone when they noticed that Momo was late for lunch. Lunch.

Irene had no idea why they were confused at first but then remembers that the girl has this thing for eating and she wonders how the girl still looks fit as ever even after gobbling down more than three cups of chocolate pudding that the cafeteria serves.

“Whoa… that was quick. Are you even sure it’s her name?” Nayeon asks as she chews on her food.

“Where the hell have you been?” Sana asks as Momo and she don’t share the same class before lunch.

“Uh, had to use my phone,” the girl answered as everyone at the table looks at her confusedly.

“That doesn’t answer the question why you’re late for lunch,” Krystal states.

“So like, Sana said that this girl studies at Holy Trinity right?” Momo says, ignoring Sana as everyone nods urging her to continue. “I asked someone about her. Turns out, she knows the girl,” she finishes smugly.

“And?” Nayeon asks.

“Her name’s Mina.”

-

It takes Irene all her might not to curse out loud as she reads her mother’s text message. But the annoyed look on her face says it all and her deep sigh catches the attention of the two girls beside her as they head towards the parking lot of the school.

“Something wrong?” Seulgi asks her.

“Huh? Oh nothing. Um, I’ll just go ahead of you guys. My mom won’t pick me up today,” Irene says.

“Where’d you live?” Wendy asks all of a sudden. Save for the small talk, she and Wendy doesn’t really talk much even in class.

“Yeah, Wendy could drive you there,” Seulgi adds, her eyes turning into this eyesmile and Irene wonders if the girl can even see where she’s looking or walking in their current situation.

“No it’s okay, I’ll just walk. It’s near anyway,” Irene says dismissively.

“Just get in the car, Irene,” Wendy says as she unlocks the door to her car. “Why in the world would we let you walk when we can drive you?”

“But-” and Seulgi then sends her this puppy-eyed look and Irene had to roll her eyes at the girl. “Fine.”

“Yay!” Seulgi exclaims as she gets into the backseat of the car. “You take shotgun.”

“But only this time!” Irene says the moment she got into the passenger seat.

Turns out, Wendy and Seulgi just lives on the other side of their area. Thus a “See, we drive pass your place! It’s no inconvenience!” from Seulgi and a nod from Wendy. “Plus you live close to Krystal’s.”

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow in school then. And uh, thanks for the drive,” Irene says as she straps the seatbelt off. She sees her mother’s car parked on their driveway and it draws a frown on her face. She gets out of the car as Seulgi does so to transfer to the passenger’s seat.

“You sure you don’t want us touring you around? It’s still pretty early,” Seulgi says through the window with a pretend-hurt look on her face.

Irene shakes her head. “Maybe some other time. Thanks again guys.”

“Fine,” Seulgi says with a sigh finally giving up in persuading the other girl. “See ya tomorrow then!”

“See ya,” Irene says with a wave of her hand and she catches a small smile from Wendy as the car hits the road once again.

-

One of the few things Irene expected upon her first week in school was definitely not this. That she would be shoved into her very own locker just a few minutes after the bell rang. She didn’t even get the chance to catch a glimpse of the culprit and Irene just wants to scream the frustration out of her lungs. Like yeah sure, someone would hear you at an empty hallway. No harm in trying though.

With a groan, she slumps her head at the door of her goddamn locker causing a small thud to resound in the small cramped area. How the hell she even fit inside, she has no idea. Guess she’ll have to wait ‘till the end of first period. Well there goes her good class record down the dump.

“Irene?” all of a sudden Irene bolts up from her somewhat crouched position and hits her head due to the voice. “Irene, you around?” Irene immediately recognizes the voice.

“Wendy?” she tries to call out hoping her voice was somewhat loud enough to catch the other girl’s attention. Peeking through the small opening she sees a figure passing by her locker. “Wendy!” she yells this time.

Hearing the sound of her name, Wendy halts her steps trying figure out the direction of the voice. “Irene?”

“Yeah, uh, hi. Can you uh, sort of get me out of here?” Irene says as sees the other girl walking slowly towards her.

“I knew they’d pull something like this,” she hears Wendy mutter. “What’s your locker code?”

Wendy then proceeded to twist the lock open as Irene said the string of numbers. The moment the metal door swung open, Irene immediately tackled Wendy into a hug causing the latter to stiffen up.

“Thank you,” Irene mumbles into the shorter girl’s shoulder.

“Um, no problem. We should you know… get to class now,” Wendy says as she slowly tries to break the contact which of course Irene noticed.

“Oh sorry. Right. Let’s go.”

-

“It’s nothing new, really. They do it to every new kid. Kinda annoying that the school doesn’t do anything about it,” Seulgi says during their break the moment they found out what happened to Irene before class.

“Question is though, how in the world did Wendy know about you getting stuck in that damn metal box?” Nayeon asks, her eyes squinting at Wendy who just nonchalantly shrugs.

“We have Lit class together,” the navy haired girl states.

“More like every class together,” Krystal declares.

“Still…” Nayeon says, still not buying Wendy’s excuse.

“Which reminds me!” all of them at the table immediately looks upon the enthusiastic Joy who sprang up from her seat. “Remember that time they tried shoving Wendy into her locker?!”

A low threatening growl suddenly escapes Wendy’s throat as the girl shoots daggers at the taller girl who seems completely unfazed by it.

“Which part? The not fitting into the locker part or kicking the boy in the nuts?” Krystal asks while smirking at Wendy.

“Both! Oh god, it was so damn legendary. Michael was crying his eyes out!” Joy was now at the point of cackling as she recalls the memory.

-

“So you kicked the boy’s balls in front of numerous kids in the hallway?” Irene then asks Wendy as the two of them sat in their communications class.

“He was being a dick, okay,” Wendy says with a sigh hoping that Irene would let the topic go. “And I got into detention for that.”

“It was that bad?” Irene asked with a grimace but only got a shrug as a form of reply from the other girl. The second bell rang through the halls at the same time a rushing Momo rushed through the doors.

“Ha! Saved by the bell!” the blonde girl yells triumphantly with a fist in the air.

“You’re lucky this time Miss Hirai. Now, off to your seat,” their teacher instructed the younger without of course forgetting to give an eye roll at Momo’s actions.

“You weren’t at break period. Where were you?” Irene asks as soon as the blonde sat into her chair. Which was arranged the same way the others were, four armchairs facing each other.

“I had a call with Jeongyeon. I’m gonna meet Mina on the weekend,” Momo says with a bright smile on her face.

“Well, congratulations and good luck on that Momo,” Irene says genuinely.

“Miss Hirai, Miss Bae, as much as I appreciate the fact that you’re getting to know each other, I’d much prefer it if non-class related topics remain outside the classrooms,” their teachers says.

“But Mrs. Kinley, isn’t this communications class?” a boy from the back yells which immediately triggers snickers from the class.

“Very funny Jordan. Now, we’ve got a letter dropped in our Speak Out bag,” Mrs. Kinley says as she unfolds a piece of paper that appears to be ripped out of a notebook.

“We just got a letter. We just got a letter. We just got a-” noticing the stares from Irene and Wendy, Momo halts her singing. “What? Blue’s clues.”

A giggle from Irene and an eye roll from Wendy and they turn their attention back towards the teacher as she reads off the letter.

-

“Are going out today?” Irene’s mother asks the moment she steps into the living room. The woman was typing away something on her laptop while sitting on the couch.

“Not really. Why?” she asks as she proceeds to grab the remote and sits down on the sofa.

“Nothing. Your dad told me you made friends. I just thought you’d want to spend the weekend with them,” her mother says, not looking up from what she was doing.

“They have some stuff to do,” Irene curtly replies as she continues flicking through the channels.

“Oh in that case, can you go get the mail sweetie? I think the postman passed by this morning,” her mother says finally looking up at her from laptop she was typing on.

“Sure,” she says as she gets up to head outside.

It was a nice Saturday, and Irene is for once thankful they’ve moved to a peaceful place. Away from the bustling and busy streets of New York. She’s never really one for the city.

Irene was sure the day was gonna pass by without her seeing Wendy or the other girls for once. Only to find that fact denied when she finds Wendy bending towards their mailbox, with her tongue close to the piece of metal.

“Wendy? What are you doing?” the taller of the two asked and immediately, the mentioned girl stood upright. Flustered by the fact that she got caught.

“Irene! I uh… was licking your mailbox?” Wendy says sheepishly. And Irene then hears laughter a few steps behind Wendy and finds out that it was Seulgi.

“I’m gonna guess Seulgi’s behind this. No pun intended,” Irene says with a small smile as she steps closer towards the navy haired girl.

“Yeah, it’s her idea of _fun_.”

“Well then, you’re lucky it wasn’t my mom who caught you. Can I get our mail now?”

“Oh uh sure,” Wendy sidesteps from the mailbox giving the other girl some space to pick out the contents of the metal box.

“A fishing magazine? Really?” Irene incredulously asks to no one in particular as she picks out a few letters with the magazine.

“The old occupant must’ve forgot to send them their new address,” Wendy states with a chuckle.

“Welp, their problem, not ours. Free mags, yay.”

“Hey there Irene,” a new voice joins in on their conversation. It was Seulgi with Krystal in tow. “I was hoping you’d get out of your house.”

“Haha, very funny Seulgi,” Wendy deadpans at the other girl. At the same time a car drives to a stop in front of them. The window on the driver’s side rolled down to reveal Joy, a rock song was blasting loudly from the car speakers enough for them to hear. And Irene ponders for a moment if the girl doesn’t drive 60 on a 40.

“Hey, you guys are coming right? Oh, hi there Irene!” Joy says with a smile and a wave. “The others are there already.”

“Yeah yeah, we are,” Krystal says. “Wendy’s driving, but I’m going with you. I gotta talk to Sana”

“Alright then. Hop in,” Joy says and Krystal immediately walks and slips into the passenger’s seat. “I guess I’m not needed here anymore. Oh and bring Irene with you, Nayeon wants her there. Ciao muchachos,” Joy states as she proceeds to close to window and drives off away from them.

“I guess that’s our cue then. Irene, you should come with us!” Seulgi exclaims enthusiastically.

“Um, I don’t really-“

“We’ll be doing a High School Musical marathon at Nayeon’s place. Come on, it’ll be fun!”

“Seulgi, you always think everything is fun.” Wendy states.

“You’re just no fun,” Seulgi directs at Wendy. “We won’t end late, and besides, you’re part of the gang now. Not unless you’re busy or anything,” the girl continues.

And Irene thinks about the amount of channels she’s surfed past on the tv in the living room. Thinks about her mother whom she thought would be out today.

“Alright, sure. Lemme just tell my mom,” Irene says and head back to their house with the mail in tow and she can hear Seulgi cheering in the background.

“Hey mom? Change of plans, I’m going to a friend’s place. Would that be okay?” she says as she places the mail onto the coffee table.

“More than fine sweetie. Dinner’s at 6, okay?” her mother says with a smile and Irene replies with a nod as she grabs her hoodie from the coat rack and heads out.

-

It took them around fifteen minutes to reach Nayeon’s neighborhood which was situated at the area for the well-off people as Irene noticed from the huge houses they passed by.

“What took you meatheads so long?” Joy asks them as the girl opened the double doors to the house – scratch that, mansion would be a better word to describe the place.

“Chill Joy, we’re here now,” Seulgi says as she tackles the taller girl into a headlock.

“The hell! Get off me! You’re ruining my hair!” Joy screeches as she struggles to get away from the monolid girl.

“What’s with the yelling?!” Nayeon’s shout echoes as she emerges from what Irene guessed was the kitchen based from the bowl of chips the girl was carrying. “Oh! Irene! You came!”

“Yeah. Hi,” the mentioned girl says shyly.

“Come! The others are here already,” the owner of the house says as she then leads the way through a hallway.

At the command, Seulgi runs ahead of them screaming, “dibs on the massage chair!”

“Oh no you don’t!” Joy then exclaims after realizing Seulgi’s words and proceeds to chase after the girl.

“God, you people are loud!” Nayeon shouts after them while shaking her head. Irene wonders if the girl also knows she’s being loud. Probably not.

“Four years and you’re still not used to their voices,” Wendy says as she walks next to Irene.

“They’re a handful,” Nayeon states. And as they reached the small theater room they were greeted by Joy and Sana bickering. “What in the world is the commotion about?!”

“Sana wants to watch Finding Nemo instead!” Joy shouts from her seat while pointing at the mentioned girl.

And Irene agrees with Nayeon. Yeah, they are a handful.

-

How they settled into binge watching Thirteen Reasons Why baffles Irene. She was pretty sure Sana and Joy were close to breaking each other’s necks off if it wasn’t for Krystal who decided to play the series instead.

So here she was, seated on the couch squished near the arm rest next to Wendy who’s quietly chewing on a bowl of chips. How that’s possible, she doesn’t know. 7 hours and nearly thirty minutes into the show later, Irene feels her phone buzz from a new message.

It was a text from her mother asking her if she’ll be home for dinner. She checks the time and realizes it’s already 6 in the evening. She silently curses as she pockets her phone after sending a reply to her mother that she’ll be home soon.

“Something wrong?” Irene then hears Wendy whispers to her.

“I gotta head home for dinner,” Irene replies in the same volume and in the darkness she sees Wendy nod.

“I’ll drive you,” the girl says.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to-“

“I insist,” Wendy says as she proceeds to place the bowl of chips onto the coffee table. “And besides, we dragged you here.”

“What about Seulgi?” Irene asks.

“She can catch a ride with Joy.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Sana, who was sitting on a bean bag near them asks loud enough which catches the group’s attention.

“Irene’s gotta go home,” Wendy says.

“What time is it anyway?” Momo asks and checks her phone. “What the? It’s evening already? How long have we been watching this show?”

“Give or take 7 hours? Anyway, we’ll go ahead. Seulgi, just ask Joy for a ride,” Wendy tells her friend.

“I ain’t letting her sit in my car!” Joy declares from her seat.

“Whatever, you idiots deal with it,” Wendy mutters as she gets up from her seat which of course Irene mimics. “See you guys around.”

“I’ll walk you guys out,” Nayeon says as the girl stands up from the floor.

Once on the porch, Wendy immediately heads to her car leaving both Nayeon and Irene standing there.

“Thanks for inviting me over,” Irene says to which the older girl dismisses with a wave of her hand.

“You’re part of the gang now. You gotta be around during times like these. And besides, the girls like you,” Nayeon states and immediately Irene recalls the amount of pranks Joy has done upon her in just a span of a week and wonder if it counts as liking.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Irene says with a laugh.

“They don’t show it but I can sense it. Besides, I think Wendy likes you,” the other girl says while crossing her arms and leaning on the doorframe.

“She what now? We don’t even talk that much with each other,” Irene says while looking over at Wendy who’s seated on the driver’s seat while scrolling through her phone.

“If it were the others, she’d be yelling at them to hurry up,” Nayeon says while pointing towards the mentioned girl’s direction with her chin. “And I told you, I can sense stuff.”

“Is that a sixth sense thing or what?” Irene jokingly says to which the other girl laughed at.

“Probably!” Nayeon exclaims with a laugh. “Anyway, don’t be aloof. You should go. Wendy’s been staring at me like she wants to shave my hair off.”

“We wouldn’t want that to happen now do we? Thanks again Nayeon. See you around,” Irene says as she heads off towards the car as she see the girl wave at her.

“Please don’t tell me she told you something stupid,” Wendy tells her the moment she got into the car.

“None of that. Don’t worry,” Irene assures her as she straps on her seatbelt as Wendy gently pulls out of parking.

“I’ll trust you on that then,” the navy haired girl says.

The drive was equally quiet. Neither of them was talking and Irene immediately wishes Seulgi was with them. The girl could go on for days talking. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Wendy decides to break the silence.

“Want me to turn on the stereo?” the girl asks.

“Yeah sure. I don’t mind,” Irene says and she sees the other girl nod in approval before turning the car’s stereo on but not before checking if there was a CD inside. Immediately Carly Rae Jepsen’s voice started filling out from the car speakers.

“Didn’t peg you as a Carly Rae fan,” says Irene with amusement as the other girl sighs.

“That’s probably Seulgi’s CD. What did you peg me as though?”

“I dunno,” Irene says with a shrug. “A screamo fan?”

“Oh my god,” Wendy laughs from her seat. “It’s the leather jacket and the hair, isn’t it?”

“Maybe,” Irene chuckles.

“Well I hate to disappoint, but I’m a woman of various genre preferences,” Wendy says with a smile.

“So if I go into your playlist, what would I find then?” Irene turns to look at the other girl who has her eyes on the road. And if anyone says Wendy doesn’t look attractive right now, they’re probably lying.

“Hmm. A bit of Mozart, Lana del Rey, some indie tracks and a whole lot of songs kids of today would probably not know,” Wendy says with a smile.

As they reach a red light, Wendy looks at her with that smile and Irene suddenly finds herself mesmerized by that smile and those eyes. Swallowing a lump in her throat she nods and looks back at the road because what in the world was that.

“How about you? What would I find in your playlist,” Wendy asks her this time.

“I don’t really listen that much to music,” she shyly confesses and she hears a faux gasp from the other girl. “I mean I do, but I don’t really remember who sang it or what the title of the song is.”

“Please tell me you’re lying!” and Irene is all too suddenly ashamed to tell the girl that she’s too busy studying to dwell into music. “Seulgi will kill you if she finds out. But how’d you know that was a Carly Rae song though?”

“Oh. I uh. I heard a friend of mine play that track before and she was a huge Jepsen fan so…” Irene answered. But not before swallowing the lump in her throat at the question.

“Well, at least you know something,” Wendy shrugs, which Irene guesses is the end for that topic.

A few blocks later and their car halts right in front of Irene’s driveway. 

“I guess this is me, then. Thanks for the ride,” Irene says. “I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, see you around,” Wendy replies as Irene got out of the car but immediately rummages something from the glove compartment and shouts after Irene’s name.

“Yeah?” the other girl asks.

“Here, it’s my favorite mixtape. At least lemme give you ideas on the best tracks out there,” with a smile, Wendy reaches out the CD towards Irene as the other girl takes a few steps back towards the car.

“Alright then, I’ll listen to it,” the other girl replies. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Wendy says and as Irene walks towards their front door, she calls out to the girl again. “Oh and Irene? Goodnight!”

“Goodnight Wendy,” Irene turns around for a smile at the girl. One of which Wendy gladly returns.

“I’m home,” Irene declares to no one in particular as she entered their house.

“Who was that?” her father asks her from the living room. Irene guesses he took a peek through the window.

“Oh, that was Wendy,” she replies to which his father nods in approval.

“Dinner’s ready. Your mother’s in the kitchen,” her father says as he stood up from the couch and heads towards the kitchen but not stopping in front of his daughter. “What’s that?”

“Huh?” Irene wonders, but eyes the direction her father’s finger was pointing at. At Wendy’s CD. “Oh, it’s Wendy’s mixtape.”

“Mixtape huh. I remember the old times. We’d use cassettes for mixtapes,” her father says, a look of nostalgia in his face. “At least others still appreciate a good ol’ mixtape.”

“Whatever dad,” Irene jokingly dismisses her father with a smile as she heads towards the kitchen.

She heads up towards her room immediately after dinner, which was spent mostly on her mother interrogating her about her day. As her laptop displayed her desktop, she inserts the CD and waits. Her eyes catches the inside of the CD case. It was the tracklist and at the very top, it was written “THE mixtape”.

The first track plays and Irene looks at the title.

_“Heart Out”_


	3. take me to church

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> completely unbeta'd and i hate myself for that. and yes, i'm still alive and i still don't know what i'm doing.

Irene knows it’s a small town. But she never guessed it would be that small wherein she gets to see Wendy and the others again knowing that it’s a Sunday.

Her mother decided that the whole family should go to church on that Sunday. And to Irene’s surprise, Wendy was there at the front pew with whom she thinks is the girl’s parents. Nayeon was there too, with the choral group along with Seulgi.

As everyone filed out of the church after the mass, a happy Seulgi runs towards her direction.

“Irene! Oh!” Seulgi jovially greets her but stops as the girl notices the two older people with her. Immediately, the girl bows in greeting and sputters a hello in Korean at the same time introducing herself.

“Nice to meet you Seulgi,” Irene’s mother says with a smile.

“I didn’t know you sing,” Irene tells Seulgi as her parents walks away from her saying they’ll just talk to someone.

“It’s just a hobby. I prefer dancing though,” Seulgi says with a shrug. “It was Nayeon who dragged me into joining the choir.”

“Is there anything else I need to know? I keep getting surprised at these facts with the things you guys actually do. I didn’t really peg you people to go to church or something,” Irene says with a chuckle to which the monolid girl laughs along to.

“Well, Joy’s in it to. But she attends the afternoon mass instead, so it’s just me and Nabongs,” Seulgi says with a smile. “I’m guessing you’ve seen Wendy too, right?”

“Yeah. Were those her parents with her?” she asks, and Seulgi nods in approval.

“They always attend mass in the morning. And her parents are huge benefactors of the church.”

“How about your parents? Are they with you?” Irene asks, curious as to why the girl’s all by herself.

“Oh, they attend in the afternoon. They’ve got shifts at the hospital in the morning,” Seulgi answers.

They talk for a while until Irene’s parents return to them with whom Seulgi just confirmed were Wendy’s parents with the mentioned girl lagging behind them.

“Irene, this is Mr. and Mrs. Shon,” her mother tells her, and by instinct she bows to the two in greeting with Seulgi following suit.

“Hello there, Irene. Nice to see you too, Seulgi. Tell your parents I said hello,” Mrs. Shon greets them as Seulgi bade them goodbye. The woman’s attention was then redirected back to Irene. “I’m guessing you’ve met my daughter, Wendy.”

“Um yes, we’ve both got the same classes,” Irene tells them.

“Was she the same Wendy who drove you home last night?” her father immediately asks, seemingly connecting the dots.

“Oh. Yeah, she is,” she replies as she looks at Wendy who’s looking someplace else with her hands in her pocket.

“Wait, you were with Wendy last night?” Wendy’s father asks as he looks towards his daughter. “I thought you were with Nayeon?”

“We were at Nayeon’s place. With Krystal, Seulgi and the others,” Wendy says with a sigh and Irene feels the tension between the two. “Anyway, Mr. and Mrs. Bae, would it be fine if Irene and I go out for a bit?”

Albeit confused, Irene’s mother nods in approval.

“Wendy, you don’t have your car with you,” the girl’s father states.

“We’re just getting coffee a few blocks down, dad. And Joy works there, we can catch a ride with her,” Wendy says, her tone bordering between annoyance and anger. Her father only frowns at her. “Can we go now?”

Wendy’s father reluctantly nods, and the two of them says their goodbye before walking away with Wendy holding onto her wrist.

Knowing they’re a good distance away, Wendy lets out a frustrated groan and mutters something Irene makes out as “asshole”.

“Hey, you okay?” Irene asks in concern.

“Yeah. Let’s just go,” the girl says. Irene guesses it’s a topic Wendy doesn’t want to dwell upon.

-

They enter an industrial café which was a few blocks from the church. As Wendy mentioned, Joy was indeed there. The girl was handling the register with a bored look on her face but immediately sends a smile into their direction as soon as they got inside. The café was nearly empty save for a few, most probably because it was a Sunday.

“What do you want?” Wendy asks, getting her attention as they reached the counter.

“Oh. I’ll just have a green tea,” she says and Wendy nods.

“Hey Joy, the usual and a green tea for Irene,” the girl says towards Joy whom nods in approval and punches in their order. As Irene was pulling out her wallet the navy haired girl stops her. “I’m paying. I dragged you here so yeah… Put it on my tab, Joy.”

“Roger that, boss,” Joy mock salutes but not after sending the two a knowing grin which was only noticed by Irene. “I’ll bring you your orders. Momo’s at the corner over there. I think she’s waiting for someone.”

They nod at the young barista and heads off to where Momo was sitting. The girl had her back from them, which was most likely the reason why Irene didn’t notice the girl.

“Hey champ, waiting for someone?” Wendy asks the seated girl as she slides into the booth unannounced.

“Shit! Don’t startle me!” Momo screams in shock after nearly dropping her phone. Wendy sends her this not-so-apologetic look and just shrugs.

“Hey there Momo,” Irene says, settling to sit beside Wendy.

“Now that is the way to greet someone,” Momo says, pointing at Irene. “Hello to you too, Irene.”

“Are you meeting this Mina girl today?” Irene asks as she recalls her conversation with Momo in school.

“Wait, that’s today?” Momo only nods at both Irene and Wendy’s questions.

“Lucky you have us then. We can judge whether this girl gets our approval,” Wendy smirks at Momo, to which the other girl rolls her eyes to.

“What’re you even doing here anyway? I thought you had to go to your religion thing?” Momo asks them. “And why is Irene with you?”

“Oh my god, questions. Questions everywhere!” Wendy fake groans and slumps her head on the table. “Irene, kindly enlighten her.”

With a chuckle, Irene does as she’s told. “Mass just ended a while ago and Wendy dragged me here. So… here we are.”

“I see,” Momo says with a nod. At the same time Joy arrives at their table with their orders.

“One double espresso for the boring pipsqueak and a green tea for the pretty lady,” Joy says, placing the drinks onto the table.

“Thank you, Joy,” Irene says with a smile.

“No thanks from me though,” Wendy mutters while pouring the sachet of sugar onto her cup.

“I didn’t ask for one,” Joy rebutted, sticking her tongue out at the girl before walking away and returning to her post.

The door to the café dings and Irene looks towards the newcomer – or in this case, newcomers. A girl with short hair entered first followed by another with shoulder length copper hair. Both looked Asian and Irene looks back at Momo.

“I think your date just arrived,” Irene whispers to the girl who turns around at the newcomers.

“How can you tell it’s her?” Wendy asks, still putting in her second – or was it third? Irene’s not sure – packet of sugar.

“Because she’s pretty,” Irene says with a shrug. Wendy pauses her actions and then looks up towards the two girls near the counter.

“Eh. You’re prettier,” Wendy nonchalantly says, immediately getting back to stirring her coffee and Irene nearly chokes on her tea.

“The copper haired one. That’s her,” Momo whispers as she turns to face them again.

“I guess that’s our cue to leave then,” Irene declares as she nudges Wendy.

“What? Why?” Wendy asks, not getting a grasp of the situation.

“No, please don’t leave!” Momo begs them. “My friend and I are supposed to make it look coincidental.”

Wendy then looks at Irene to mouth an “I told you so,” which Irene rolls her eyes to.

“They’re heading this way. Quick! Be natural,” Irene tells Momo who hurriedly takes a sip from her coffee only to spit it back out due to the heat.

“Oh my god,” Irene exclaims and grabs the nearest table napkin and hands it to the other girl.

“Wow… that was… natural indeed,” Wendy mutters at the event that unfolded in front of her before lightly sipping from her cup.

“Momo?” a voice joins their conversation and Irene looks up from the girl who was trying to get her bearings back from the hot coffee, to the one standing beside their table. It was the one with the shorter hair.

“Oh, Jeongyeon!” Momo exclaims all the while with her tongue sticking out. Irene hears Wendy snicker and tries to nudge the girl.

“Whoa, you okay?” the mentioned girl asks her, concern painted all over her face.

“Yeah. Crap. Sorry, I might’ve burnt my tongue.” Momo explains. “Anyway, what’re you doing here?”

“Oh, I’m showing Mina around. She’s kinda new in town,” the girl, Jeongyeon, tells them as she gestures towards the mentioned girl to them.

“Hello,” the girl says in a quiet voice.

“Hi there,” Irene says, trying to help Momo out. “Have a seat. There’s plenty of room.”

Momo notices the help and sends Irene a thankful look.

“You wouldn’t mind right?” Jeongyeon asks, and Irene nods not forgetting to send a smile towards the girl. “Awesome.”

As the two newcomer settled down, Jeongyeon grabbing a chair from a nearby table and Mina sliding – elegantly, if Irene were to describe it – into the booth next to Momo who seems to have stiffen up, Joy also arrives with the new orders but also leaves immediately after seeing new costumers enter the café.

“So Momo, any plans on introducing me to your friend,” Jeongyeon asks with a knowing look.

“Oh right!” Momo loudly exclaims, and Irene has to wince at the girl’s action. “You already know Wendy.This is Irene.” She says while gesturing to them at the same order.

“Hi,” Irene says with a smile, while Wendy raises her hand in recognition.

“Yeah, I know Wendy,” Jeongyeon says with a smile.

“You know each other?” Irene asks as she sends Wendy this confused look. Jeongyeon only nods at her direction.

“We went to the same school together before,” Wendy points out.

“Oh,” Irene said, drawing out the syllable before nodding slowly.

“Anyway Mina, Momo here is Japanese but sadly you can’t speak Japanese with her.”

“I swear to god, I’d be rich if I’d get a dollar every time someone else says I can’t speak Japanese,” Momo grumbles, which earns a snicker from the girl sitting beside her.

“Were you born in Japan though?” Mina asks with her gentle voice.

“Yep. Kyoto specifically. Though we sort of moved here not even a year after I was born,” Momo declares while the other girl nods in understanding.

As the two girls continued their conversation, with Jeongyeon occasionally joining in, Irene then looks at Wendy whom she noticed has been staring out the window.

“I’m taking we won’t be asking Joy for a ride back home, right?” Irene then decides to ask, bringing Wendy’s attention back to her.

“Huh? Oh. Her shift ends at like, three or something. So…” Wendy uttered, hesitation evident in her voice.

“So?” Irene prods.

“So… we can walk?” the other girl then sends her this look that borders between sheepish and apologetic, totally different from the Wendy she usually sees with the others.

“Fine with me though,” Irene says, sipping the last portions of her tea. “But let’s get lunch first. I’m starving and this tea isn’t helping.”

“Alright. I know this diner just around the corner,” Wendy says, a smile painted on her lips.

Just then, a shrill ring comes from Jeongyeon’s phone which immediately halts their conversation.

“Sorry, gotta answer this,” the girl says as she stands up to pick up the call only to come back a few seconds later.

“Something wrong?” Mina inquires.

“Yeah, no. That was Jihyo screaming at me for 20 good seconds,” Jeongyeon answers, wincing as she recalls Jihyo’s voice over the phone. “I need to go to her place and finish those election posters we’re supposed to post around campus.”

“Oh, I guess we should get going then? I could help you guys out,” Mina says, about to stand up from her seat only to be stopped by Jeongyeon who placed a hand on her shoulder.

“No need. We’ve got plenty of hands. Besides, you and Momo and starting to get to know each other. What’s better than knowing a fellow Japanese around town,” Jeongyeon then says.

“Not sure about that though,” Wendy comments, earning her a kick on the shin from who Irene guesses was Momo judging from the way the girl was sending Wendy a threatening look.

“Momo can show you around town,” Irene adds, immediately seeing the rehearsed conversation in front of her.

“Oh! That’s a better idea,” Jeongyeon quips only to be interrupted again by her ringing phone. Looking at the caller, her face paled. “I really gotta go. Momo, take care of Mina!”

The last words were rushed as the girl dashed her way out of the café, leaving behind confused looks from their fellow patrons.

“Well that happened fast…” Mina whispers. “I hope I’m not interrupting you guys or anything.”

“Not at all,” Irene answers with a smile. “Besides, Wendy and I were just grabbing something to drink and spotted Momo here by chance.”

As the copper haired girl nodded, Wendy decided to take the chance and signaled Irene that they should go.

“And speaking of which, Wendy and I shall get going,” Irene adds.

“What? Already?” Momo asks, her face sending a plea at Irene.

“Yeah. I just dragged her here, remember?” Wendy says, pointing at Irene as she stands up, followed then by Irene as the girl steps out of the booth. “Plus she told me she’s starving.”

“It was nice knowing you Mina. I hope to see you around,” says Irene. “Bye Momo. See you around.”

A panicked looking Momo slowly sends them a wave with her mouth agape. Irene feels sorry for leaving the girl but her stomach is growling and she needs to feed the creatures in it ASAP.

“She’s nice,” Wendy starts off as soon as they exited the café and started walking towards the aforementioned diner. Irene nods in agreement. “A bit quiet though.”

“Got a hate thing going on with quiet people?” Irene asks as she walks pace to pace with the other girl.

“Nope. Quiet is nice. Like you.”

-

The first thing Irene notices as soon as they’ve sat down with their orders in the diner was that Wendy only ordered a milkshake. So she eyes the time on her watch which was screaming a twelve o’clock noon at her and she wonders if the girl is hungry or not.

“Are you sure you’re not gonna eat anything? That’s just a milkshake, Wendy, if you’ve noticed,” Irene says with her brows meeting halfway.

“Yep. One hundred percent sure,” the other girl answers, fiddling with the drink’s straw.

With a sigh, Irene grabs the fries on her tray and places it in front of Wendy. “At least eat some fries. It’s the middle of the day.”

“Alright, mother,” Wendy says as she rolls her eyes at Irene’s persistence. But despite her answer, Irene doesn’t take her eyes off of the girl. Wendy sighs as she understands the girl’s implication and grabs a fry and pops it into her mouth. “There. Happy?”

Smiling, Irene nods and brings her attention back on her meal. But she doesn’t miss the hint of hesitation that flashed in Wendy’s eyes before the girl grabbed the piece of food.

“I think I deserve an explanation,” Irene says after a chewing the first spoonful of her meal. She wanted to ask back then at the café but wasn’t able to.

“A what now?” Wendy asks, confusion drawn on her face.

“Why you dragged me away at the church a while ago,” continues Irene, eyes not leaving her plate.

“Oh,” the other girl says before slumping off in her seat. “I just wanted an excuse out of there.”

“Oh, I see now. So I’m like your 911 or something?” looking up from her food, Irene then smirks at Wendy.

“What? No! I mean. You could put it that way but- damn it. Why are you making this hard,” Wendy lets out a deep sigh. “It can’t be helped okay.”

 “Next time, you’re buying me a meal instead of a cup of tea as payment.”

“I swear to god people love draining my wallet dry,” Wendy mumbles onto the straw of her drink. “And here I thought you were a quiet one.”

Irene shrugs at the words. “Looks can be deceiving, Miss Shon.”

“Ha. Ha,” says Wendy, faking a laugh.

Silence enveloped the two again save for the noise that was coming from the diner. Only when Irene finished her meal did they resume talking with Wendy starting it off this time.

“By the way, I never really got to know your Korean name,” Wendy says.

“Hm? It’s Joohyun,” Irene answers. “Only my parents call me that though ever since we’ve moved to the U.S.”

“Joohyun,” the other girl says, practicing the way the name rolls off her tongue. “Where’d ‘Irene’ come from though?”

“You know how people here struggle pronouncing our names right?” she asks and continues after seeing Wendy nod in affirmation. “Well, my friends back then decided to call me that. And I guess I just stuck with it since then and my parents liked it so they made it legal.”

“I see. You do know what the name means, right?”

“What? The ‘goddess of peace’?” Irene asks, mock quoting the given meaning of the name. “Yeah, I’m pretty much aware of it.”

“All hail the goddess of peace!” Wendy jokingly lowers her head onto the table in a mock praise at the other girl.

“Shut up before I throw this fork at you,” Irene threatens.

“Gasp! The goddess wouldn’t dare! That would be scandalous - ow!“ Wendy jests only to yelp in pain after getting kicked in the shin by Irene. “Okay I’ll stop! Sheesh, for a person with that name you’re quite violent.”

“Not my fault,” Irene declares as she innocently looks at Wendy who was trying to soothe the pain. “What’s yours though?”

“What’s my what?”

“Korean name.”

“Oh that. I don’t have one,” Wendy declares, only to have Irene squint her eyes at her. “What? Don’t give me that look!”

“You’re Korean. Stop lying. What’s your Korean name,” Irene asks her.

“It’s Wendy! Wen. Dy. See? Two syllables. Enough for a Korean name,” Wendy says defending herself and partly hugs her knees in case Irene kicks her again.

“I’m not buying it,” she sneers. “Either you’ve got an old woman’s name, or a boy’s name.”

“None of the two,” Wendy convinces her.

“Never mind. I’m gonna ask Seulgi,” Irene declares as she stands up from her seat.

“No you’re not. Stop lying,” Wendy immediately says as she mimics her actions.

“I’m not lying Wendy. I will find out your real name,” the taller of the two says with a wicked grin before walking out of the diner.

-

She and Wendy decided to take the bus home, with much convincing from the Wendy saying that she always drives her car around and wanted to take the bus for once. It had been hours since Irene got home and she was currently lying on her bed listening to the mixtape Wendy gave her until her phone made a noise that indicated a new message.

Wendy: So I was thinking…

Wendy: Are you always violent or is it just with me?

As Irene stares at the bouncing dots on her phone screen, she recalls the times she talked to the girl today and their petty bickering here and there. _Huh, I guess I’m adjusting quickly_ … she thinks to herself, her brows knotted in confusion.

Wendy: I mean you were really quiet when back then. Like you didn’t talk that much.

Wendy: Or are you an alien?

Wendy: OMG. Who are you and what did you do to the real Irene?

Irene wouldn’t be laughing that hard if it wasn’t for the surprised monkey meme Wendy sends her after the last speech bubble.

Irene: Me?! An alien?

Irene: If I were one, then wouldn’t you be one too?

Irene: What happened to snobby Wendy during the first day of school?

Wendy: Hmmn…

Wendy: Touché, Bae. Touché.

Wendy: Or maybe I was just PMSing that day...

If her mom walks into her room right now, the woman would probably think her daughter had gone insane as Irene cackles over a gif this time around.

Irene: ISTG

Irene: What is it with you and memes?

Wendy: What? Memes are my thing.

This time around, Wendy sends her five memes trying to prove her point.

Irene: I get it. OMG stop.

Wendy: Ha!

Wendy: Anyway

Wendy: What’re ye up to?

Irene was about to reply when her phone started ringing as Wendy was calling her phone. Without hesitation, she answers the call.

“What. Bored with your life?” Irene asks.

 _“Wow. Not even a ‘hello’ or ‘hi Wendy!’”_ the girl on the other side of the line says.

“Hi Wendy,” Irene says in the most deadpan tone she could muster.

_“Such enthusiasm, Irene… much wow…”_

“Did you call just to ask for a ‘hi Wendy’ from me?”  Irene asks her, stifling a laugh from escaping her lips as she rolls onto her stomach to check on her laptop.

 _“Maybe. Anyway, what’re you up to?”_ Wendy asks her.

“You take a guess.”

 _“Alright… Well I heard some rustling so I guess you’re on your bed,”_ Wendy says, starting off her guess and Irene hums in acknowledgement. _“And I can hear the Naked and Famous so therefore you’re listening to my mixtape.”_

“Wow. You’ve got some good hearing sense,” Irene says.

_“Ha. Ha. How’s the playlist? Listened to it all?”_

“Nope. Not yet,” she answers, biting her lip as she eyes the cd case beside her laptop.

 _“Please tell me you’re joking. Who are you? Clay Jensen?”_ Wendy tells her.

“Oh shut up. Seriously though, it isn’t like you to call me. Something wrong?”

_“I’m being a good friend here.”_

“Not sure how that answers my question and proves your actions but, okay, accepted,” Irene tells her. “I’m hanging up.”

 _“You’re really something Bae Joohyun,”_ Wendy murmurs.

“You’ve been saying that since this morning, Wen,” Irene says.

 _“Wen? Can’t believe you’re calling me by my nickname now,”_ the girl on the other of the line says with a chuckle.

“Speaking of names, still won’t tell me your Korean name?”

_“Nope. And you’ll never find out.”_

“Aha! So you do have one!” Irene enthusiastically exclaims, bolting up from her bed at Wendy’s slip up.

 _”Shit,”_ Wendy curses only to have Irene double in laughter. _“Whatever. As I’ve said, you’d never find out.”_

“Wanna bet on that Miss Shon?” Irene taunts the other girl.

 _“Alright. Loser pays for 3 visits at that coffee shop near school,”_ Wendy says from across the line.

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Irene says, agreeing with the offer knowing that she’ll win. A knock on her door grabs her attention. It was her mother.

“Dinners ready,” her mother mouths at her, noticing that she was on the phone. She nods in understanding and directs her attention back at the other end of the line.

“Listen, Wen, I gotta go grab dinner. I’ll talk to you later,” Irene tells Wendy as she stands up from her bed.

 _“Oh. Alright then. Have a nice meal, Joohyun. Bye,”_ Wendy says, ending the call as Irene answers her back with her ‘goodbye’.

Dropping her phone on her bed, she makes her way to their dining room. Her father was already seated as so was her mother.

“I see you’ve made yourself some friends. That’s nice, sweetie,” her mother tells her with a smile a few minutes into their meal later.

“Yeah. Um. The kids here are nice,” she answers meekly.

“Speaking of, Seungwan’s father invited us for dinner this Saturday. Apparently it’s his birthday,” her father says as he picks up a piece of kimchi.

“Seungwan? Who’s Seungwan?” Irene asks, confused at the mention of the name.

“Didn’t Wendy tell you her name?” her father asks and Irene’s face immediately flashed with glee. Her father looks at her concernedly. “Uh, Irene, are you okay?”

“So her Korean name’s Seungwan…” Irene mutters to herself with happiness. Silently laughing at her easy win. “Yeah, I’m okay dad. If anything, I feel great.”

“O-kay. If you say so,” he says reluctantly but continues on with the topic which Irene drones out as she thinks of Wendy’s reaction tomorrow.

 


End file.
